The Grant and Zeichner article "On Becoming a Reflective Teacher" definitely struck me as relevant. Especially so with the new changes to the BC curriculum. I feel that teachers are going to have to think even more about how they are teaching, as opposed to what they are teaching. In a way, this almost makes parts of the article irrelevant - teachers will not necessarily have to worry about the "culture" of a school discouraging them from reflecting on best practices. If the new curriculum works as planned, teachers will be expected to be reflective in their methods, not discouraged from it. That is a big "if" though.
What we teach includes what Grant and Zeichner referred to as the "hidden curriculum". We need to teach students to be kind, fair and understanding. And also reflective. We can best achieve this if we lead by example. Students will look to us as role models, which is an incredible responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
We as teachers always need to be growing and developing, and always reflecting on our practices. We need to judge what the students are really getting out of what we do, not just what we want them to get out of it. The two may not always be equal.
What we teach includes what Grant and Zeichner referred to as the "hidden curriculum". We need to teach students to be kind, fair and understanding. And also reflective. We can best achieve this if we lead by example. Students will look to us as role models, which is an incredible responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
We as teachers always need to be growing and developing, and always reflecting on our practices. We need to judge what the students are really getting out of what we do, not just what we want them to get out of it. The two may not always be equal.
Thanks for this deeply thoughtful and insightful post, Sonya!
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